Why We Built This

The Inescapable Reality of Living Alone

We enter the world alone. For a great many of us, the final chapter of life will unfold alone too — not as a failure or a tragedy, but as an increasingly common demographic reality. The path there takes many forms: some people actively choose the freedom of independent living. Others arrive at solo living through divorce, bereavement, migration, or simply the kind of self-reliant personality that never needed a household of others to feel whole. Conflict separates families across borders. Careers move people away from their roots.

Whatever the path, the destination is the same: a significant share of the global population lives alone, and that share is growing. Single-person households are now the fastest-growing household type across most developed nations. In the United States, the number of adults aged 65 and older living alone has grown by over 20% since 2000. In Japan, solo households are projected to reach 10.8 million seniors by 2050 — a 47% increase from 2020.

Longer lifespans make this more common. Living longer extends the years of independence, which is a gift — but it also extends the years of vulnerability. A person who might have passed away at 70 now lives to 85 or 90, often alone for the final decade. There is no sign this trend will reverse.

The question is not whether people will live alone. The question is whether they can do so safely.

The Cost of Being Found Too Late

Across countries, researchers and governments have been tracking what happens when someone living alone has a medical emergency and no one is there to help. The data is consistent and sobering.

Japan: 76,000 Lonely Deaths in a Single Year

Japan has a word for dying alone and being found days or weeks later: kodokushi (孤独死). In 2024, Japan's National Police Agency released its first comprehensive annual report on the phenomenon:

• 76,020 people died alone at home — approximately 208 per day
• 76.4% were aged 65 or older; the largest single group was aged 85+
• 4,538 bodies (7.8%) went undiscovered for over a month
• Tokyo alone recorded 7,699 cases

Source: Xinhua — Over 76,000 people die alone in Japan in 2024; Wikipedia: Kodokushi

South Korea: A Steadily Rising Count

South Korea calls it godoksa (고독사). Government tracking shows a consistent upward trend:

Year	Lonely Deaths
2019	2,949
2020	3,279
2021	3,378
2022	3,559
2023	3,661

Men in their 50s and 60s account for 53.9% of cases. Single-person households reached 7.82 million in 2023 — 35.5% of all Korean households. Seoul has committed $327 million over five years specifically to combat loneliness and prevent these deaths.

Source: Korea Herald; Korea Times; CNN

United States: Discovery Time Determines Survival

A landmark study published in the New England Journal of Medicine tracked every person found helpless or dead alone at home in San Francisco over 12 weeks. The core finding is stark: time is the critical variable, not the underlying condition.

Time helpless before discovery	Mortality rate
Less than 1 hour	12%
More than 72 hours	67%

The same medical event — a fall, a stroke, a cardiac episode — carries radically different outcomes depending solely on how quickly help arrives. The study also found that only 11% of victims were found by family members; most were discovered by neighbours, home aides, or unidentified callers. Among men aged 85+ living alone, the incidence rate reached 123 per 1,000 per year.

Source: Gurley et al., New England Journal of Medicine, 1996

United Kingdom: Deaths Without Anyone to Call

In England, "public health funerals" — arranged by councils when someone dies with no family or funds — are a direct proxy for the most isolated deaths. In 2022/23, there were 4,400 such funerals, a figure that has risen 70% since 2015. A longitudinal study of 4,888 adults aged 50+ found that people living alone faced a 29% higher risk of death than those living with others.

Source: Local Government Association — public health funerals data; Age and Ageing / Oxford Academic

The WHO's Verdict

In 2023, the World Health Organization established its Commission on Social Connection, formally declaring loneliness a global public health priority. In May 2025, the World Health Assembly adopted its first-ever resolution on social connection.

Source: WHO Commission on Social Connection; UN News

Why Existing Solutions Fall Short

The obvious answer seems simple: put a camera in the home and have someone watch. But most people won't accept this — and for good reason.

No one wants to live under 24/7 surveillance in their own home. A camera invades the privacy and dignity of everyday life at home. Live video and audio streams sent over the internet are a data security risk. Asking a family member or friend to watch a live feed is unrealistic in any busy life — it becomes a burden, not a safety net, and it breaks down exactly when most needed.

Monthly fees make the problem worse. Many safety monitoring services charge ongoing fees, creating a barrier for the elderly, those on fixed incomes, or anyone in a developing economy. A safety device with a monthly fee is one many people will never buy — or will cancel.

Then there is the contact problem. Most alert systems require the person's designated contacts — family, friends, neighbours — to install a dedicated app, create an account, and maintain it. This is a real barrier. Not everyone will do it. A neighbour you barely know won't install your safety app. This shrinks the very circle of people who could help, at the moment you need it widest.

What We Built — and How It Works Differently

We built a range of smart home safety devices that work quietly in the background and never invade your privacy. They are designed for anyone who values independent living and wants a safety net — not just elderly people, and not just those who live alone. The person who chooses independence, the person who lives far from family, the person who simply wants to feel safe at home without asking anyone to sacrifice their own time or privacy: these are the people we build for.

The devices sit in the background. They require no active use, no daily interaction, no app to check. They work quietly until the moment they are needed.

When an alert is needed, it goes to whoever the person has designated as a contact — via SMS (SMS credits purchased separately), email, or Telegram. Contacts do not need to install any app. A phone number or email address is enough. This means a neighbour, a distant relative, a friend in another country — anyone — can be part of the safety network without any friction on their end.

There is no subscription fee for the device itself. It is a one-time purchase.

We are expanding the range. Our goal is a suite of devices that together provide comprehensive passive safety — covering presence, distress, and more — all under the same principles: private, passive, and accessible to anyone regardless of technical ability.

A Safety Net, Not Surveillance

The NEJM data makes the stakes explicit: the same medical event carries a 12% mortality rate if discovered within an hour, and a 67% mortality rate if discovered after three days. The difference is not the illness. It is whether anyone knows.

Independent living should not mean living without a safety net. Whether you chose to live alone or life brought you there, whether you are 35 or 85, whether your family is across the street or across the world — the ability to get help in an emergency should not depend on accepting surveillance, burdening others, or paying a subscription you might forget.

That is why we built this.

All statistics in this article are drawn from primary government reports, peer-reviewed journals, and WHO publications. Sources are linked inline throughout.